04-27-01

COWARDS


All right, let's have a show of hands. How many people believe that the media's current feeding frenzy over what former Senator Bob Kerrey may or may not have done thirty-two years ago in Vietnam is NOT connected to the fact that Kerrey spoke out last fall about Bush's faulty military record?

Yeah. Me neither.

This new smear campaign has Karl Rove written all over it; you can just SEE the little Nazi freak rubbing his pudgy hands together and cackling with glee. It took them a few months to find someone willing to come forward with a bogus story about Kerrey's days in Vietnam, but of course they finally did...money may not be able to buy love, but it can sure as hell buy a handy lie or three.

Now, it seems, there are a few scattered low-lifes clamoring for Kerrey to return one of his medals of honor. It isn't enough to try to ruin the man's reputation by spreading filthy allegations; they want to destroy him utterly.

According to Kerrey, on February 25, 1969, he led his squad into a "free-fire" zone...an area supposedly cleared of all civilians. When they were fired upon, they fired back. And when the dust settled, women and children were dead. A terrible tragedy, and one which I'm sure will haunt Kerrey for the rest of his life. For thirty-two years, he hasn't spoken of the incident, and neither have any other members of his squad. Yet now - such timing! - Gerhard Klann, a senior commando in the squad, has come forward and claimed that the civilians, rather than being shot by return fire, were herded up and massacred.

It's payback time in the Bushie camp.

These are the people who continue to squeal happily about how Shrub is "restoring honor and integrity". Shrub, the man who'll never have to worry about anyone trying to get him to return a medal of honor, because he never got one. Shrub, who was too much of a coward to go to Vietnam, and whose idea of integrity was to have his daddy get him a cushy spot in the National Guard so that a less privileged kid would have to fight in his place. Shrub, who's hedged, tap-danced around, and downright lied about his military records in an attempt to cover up the fact that he was AWOL during the time he claims to have served as a reserve pilot.

Look, if the regressives want to wallow about in feigned ecstasy over the purported integrity of their little puppet, they're more than welcome to do so; but to make a concerted effort to impugn those whose integrity is beyond question is going way, WAY too far. It is yet another example of right-wing cowardice and hypocrisy. And yes, I know I use the phrase "yet another example" too often, but it's because at last count there are 57,342 examples of right-wing hypocrisy, and I've only just begun counting.

Here's the thing - Kerrey went to Vietnam; Kerrey fought in Vietnam; Kerrey lost part of his leg in Vietnam. That the Vietnam war was immoral and wrong has absolutely no bearing on Kerrey's status as a national hero and patriot. Does anyone seriously think that Kerrey takes pride in the Bronze Star he received as a result of the action which left over a dozen civilians dead? Of course he doesn't. I can't begin to imagine -- and unless you're a veteran, you probably can't either -- what that man suffers through daily as a result of fighting in such an ugly, atrocious war. To have a group of disgusting lowlifes now step forward to insist that he relinquish his medal of honor is not only vicious and petty, it's downright sick.

The corporate media, because they know it'll make the Rove faction happy, have jumped on this story with alacrity and aren't about to let it go anytime soon. Yet oddly (well, not) they had no interest whatsoever in discussing the fact that Shrub can't account for a big chunk of his National Guard service (that reward is still floating out there for anyone - anyone - who can account for Shrub's whereabouts when he was supposed to be on duty). Nor have we heard a peep from the corporate media about Colin Powell's role in covering up the My Lai massacre, despite the fact that there is documented proof.

Never mind that the Gerhard Klann waited thirty-two years to come forward with his version of events, which have not been backed up by anyone else in Kerrey's squad; never mind that Klann has reason to dislike Kerrey because of his (Klann's) failure to convince Kerrey to help him get his own medal of honor. Such minor points are immaterial to the right-wing media spin machine.

However, I think - I hope - that Rove has perhaps put his foot in it this time. No doubt he felt that attacking Kerrey's hero status was the best way to publicly cripple a man who asked a few too many questions about Shrub's cowardly past, but my guess is that he didn't realize just how many veterans would leap to Kerrey's defense. McCain, the Republican that other Republicans love to hate, has already spoken up for Kerrey, and my guess is that more and more veterans will stand up to do the same. (It'll be interesting to see what Colin Powell - who's admitted to torching peasants' huts and murdering unarmed male Vietnamese during the war - has to say about the allegations against Kerrey).

It was an ugly war, and ugly things were done. But if we are going to judge the people who were brave enough to risk their lives for what they were told was their duty, then we must judge ALL of them - every last one. And since that isn't likely to happen, and shouldn't happen, then Kerrey's attackers need to shut the hell up and crawl back into their respective holes...where cowards belong.


~Rose

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